Abby Normal
by AllMonstersRHuman
Summary: Trying to leave? Try harder. Discussing your life before? Keep it a secret. Phone rings? Always let someone else answer it. Not working hard? Don't let anyone notice. Not happy? Smile bigger. Not enjoying your life in Wayward Pines? Act normal.
1. Abby

**Author's note:** _I haven't read the books. I had the season 1 marathon playing in the background while I did some spring cleaning last weekend. The show grabbed my full attention when the first aberration popped out from behind that tree. Aaand now I'm hooked. I wrote and posted this under a time crunch to get it out before season 2 airs tonight. (Who else is really excited? :D) I can almost guarantee there'll be some typos. Enjoy!_

 _P.s. to my readers of The Need and watchers of The Strain,- the abbies kind of look like naked deranged Quinlans if you're interested._

* * *

She never thought she'd be that girl who sat on her roof. Pensively gazing out at wind-rustled trees. The dramatic teen cliché of an adolescent climbing to unsafe heights in order to escape the sound of fighting parents. She never imagined she'd wake up in the year 4028 either. Or that said parents would actually be complete strangers. Who'd been mourning the loss of their newborn daughter. Before a sudden fictitious car accident had landed them in twin beds at Wayward Pines memorial. And yet there they were, thanks to Dr. Pilcher's divine will.

The girl's eyes rolled and her lip twitched distastefully at the thought. In the few years since her orientation she still held the same opinion of the man her teacher deemed their savior. A narcissistic nerd with a god complex and psychotic control issues. Hardly the kind of person you'd want lording over your Stepford-styled last hope for humanity bubble. She sighed lightly and tilted her head, threading a piece of hair between her lips. Mentally acknowledging that if not for the Doctor, they wouldn't be there at all.

The faint crash of something breaking inside the house made her head slowly turn with irritation. Back toward the open attic window. Her strand-filled mouth turned down in a frown. She freed her hair to scoff at their childlike ignorance and the risk they were taking. Upsetting the natural order of things. Mommies and daddies were not supposed to argue in the perfect town of Wayward Pines. She shook her head in disapproval and turned her eyes toward the home next door.

They were lucky the useless realtor had given them a poorly angled wayward house. One that'd been a novice architect's ostracized first try. The structure was closer to the fence than any other in the town. Separated from its neighbor by a generous pasture of grass which was a rare addition the cookie cutter homes that proceeding it lacked. She assumed the Johnsons couldn't hear the discord that happened often between her assigned guardians. If they did, they never made gossip of it around town. She was more concerned about mechanical ears. Her gaze shifted from the far-off neighboring house to the closer grey barrier and the woods beyond it.

She pined for a world that was not micro-managed and constantly monitored. Intrusive surveillance was part of why she turned to her rear roof for solitude at times like these. Rather than a walk through the voyeuristic suburb. The camera attached to their property's decorative wooden fencing had been repeatedly destroyed. Vandalism she'd falsely attributed to territorial sparrows each time a suspicious repairmen inquired. Eventually the poor man had reported the section's device intact and accepted defeat in exchange for a longer lunch break. It had been a large victory on her part in a small world of ridged rules. She valued her little slice of private shingled paradise. The one place she felt peace instead of scrutiny.

Which was why it alarmed her greatly the moment she felt that exact sensation. It broke her from the relaxed zoned-out state the dancing leaves often lulled her into. The hairs on her body gave the impression of raising, a ghosting that made her shiver in the setting sun. She looked down expecting to see one of her glorified roommates in the backyard squinting up at her. Green grass and the tops of patio furniture were all she found. Her next guess led her crawling to roof's right side, peering at her neighbor's upstairs windows. The unsettling feeling had stayed with her. It intensified when she spied no gawking boy next door. Or either of his disapproving parental figures judging her gutter-scaling habits.

Fear slowly trickled down her spine like torturous tap water as the only other possible direction occurred to her. The expanse of ancient treetops that towered high above the electrified metal barrier. She kept her eyes on the rough flaps underneath her hands as she crawled back toward the window. Each heart-pounding foot she traveled was riddled with the gradually more sickening sensation of being visually stalked. When the windowsill came into her deadlocked view she looked inside the attic. Hoping one of her surrogates had come up and been eerily watching her. Its dim emptiness was reconfirmed by a faint growl. The soft chilling sound floated to her above the open yard and made her pause with half her adrenaline-riddled body inside the frame.

She didn't want to turn around. She still held onto the tiny thread of delusion that let her believe in the back of her mind, that it all wasn't real. That she _really_ had been in a boating accident. Suspended in the hallucinations of her coma. Or at the very worst, a lab rat in a social government experiment. That the sham of a happy life she'd been living was truly all that was left for mankind.

The swift unmistakable rustling of a body moving through branches made her breath catch. Pausing out of disbelief her ears had really heard it. She'd seen the slideshow pictures. But if she turned around. And one of them was physically there for her to see. The thread maintaining her normalcy would be irreversibly severed. A savage roar rattled her. Making her jump out of her skin and unintentionally turn. Facing the monster head on.

The shock of what she saw made her legs weak. They gave out the same instant she sucked in a horrified breath. A forgotten paperback skittered down the slope, knocked overboard when her butt hit the shingles. Her perspiring grip on the windowsill threatened to let her slip toward the gutter's edge after it. She averted her wide eyes from the figure as a sickening wave of reality washed over her. Instead, focusing on pushing herself upward while she swallowed the bile rising in her throat. More hostile noises sounded out. It added to her panicked scurrying that was partly fueled by the disorienting downward dragging sensation. Her heart raced harder and her bare feet kicked a shingle loose. Losing her footing a second time wrenched a short-lived shriek from her lips. Her shrill sound was answered by a deeper one.

Distressed pants for air left her and her head snapped to the side. Glancing over her shoulder the way she used to while fleeing up the stairs from nothing as a child. Afraid the vicious thing was right behind her, hanging off the gutter's edge ready to catch her ankle. A flashing glimpse of its ashen skin the same safe distance away helped rationalize her. Enough to hook her forearm over the sill's edge. She pull herself upright. Settling into a position she left secure in on the steep surface. Her head rose slowly, hunched shoulders heaving with each breath. Fallen hair picked up by the wind blocked her view in wispy spurts.

Through the pieces she watched in horror as its bald head tilted back. Lifting its nose to receive a mouthwatering scent the breeze delivered. The creature's body shook with rapture and its jaws opened greedily. Snapping at the taste of her in the air. Her own frame trembled with fear and her steadied legs pushed her closer against the wood ledge. The thing began to pace through the tree line's limbs. Not taking its piercing eyes off her. Its movements becoming more agitated, gaining speed. Cracking thick branches with unchecked strength during its bloodlust.

She gathered her hair away from her face. Watching it closer now that her initial terror was receding. It stopped, head glistened in the hazy sunset as it moved away from her direction. She followed its line of sight to the electrified savior that separated them. She suddenly felt uncharacteristically thankful for the suffocating wall. It stole a glance at her and once more looked to the only thing stopping it from ripping her to pieces. Her newfound faith in the wall dropped when it moved to a lower branch, level with the spiky toppers. Without realizing it her head tilted while she watched its face take on a pensive expression. It seemed to her, as though it were evaluating whether or not it could make the jump. An unusually thoughtful action for one of its kind to take when breathing food was so temptingly close.

After sitting on its haunches a moment it looked back up, letting lose a prolonged growl of irritation at her. It held her gaze and slowly curled back the shapely edges of its mouth. Baring its jagged teeth while its jaws opened. Its pointed tongue emerged to salaciously drag across its lips, sending her an alarmingly articulate message.

" _Dinnertime."_

Her face pinched in a disturbed expression and her head weakly shook at him on its own accord. As it stretched to its full towering height to grab a looming branch, its gender was made undeniable. If the cords of thick muscle lifting it higher hadn't made that easy enough for her to figure out, the appendage dangling between its legs had.

In a few short seconds he was level with her once more, leaning outward with his claws anchored into the tree's bark. The pattern of movements were repeated and he looked more self-assured about his measurements. He dropped to a crouch on his chosen limb, coiling himself into a spring-loaded starting position, digging his claws into the surface for better traction. He gave a last threatening growl and moved his sights from his prey to the hurdle he aimed to jump.

Her eyes widened with dread as she watched his backside wiggle from side to side. A catlike warning sign that he was ready to pounce. She wasn't certain he could get to her. The distance of the tree line from the wall made it unlikely. But the higher vantage of his starting point combined with his strength and a running start could prove to be deadly. No matter the outcome, she was paralyzed with fear until the last millisecond of his liftoff.

"No!"

Her arm had flung out to make him stop. The same way she used to throw her arm forward when her farsighted father would nearly side-swipe other cars. A reflex that sent the heel of her palm jutting out, fingers splayed wide. Helplessly trying to prevent something terrible from happening while severe anxiety coursed through her. The long unused automatic reaction made tears blur her vision before she blinked them away and locked her memories of the past back inside.

He'd miraculously listened. The jump was abandoned at the last possible moment. Or the sound of her yell had merely distracted his hungry focus. His claws caught him, leaving him to dangle from his jumping off point. A short growl of annoyance shot toward her. He kept his eyes on the prize as he began swinging himself from side to side. Using his bodyweight to gain momentum and swing himself up onto his wide branch.

"No!" She repeated her order breathlessly at the sight of him re-coiling. "Stop!"

The beast released a defiant snarling roar but hesitated, looking from the wall to her. She crossed her arms over her chest with them outstretched. Uncrossing and re-crossing them rapidly to in a fanning motion meant to ward him off. It was a physical communication movement universally recognized by humans that made his head tilt curiously. His salivating mouth still hung agape as he panted out determined breaths and took in large swaths of her scent.

"No." She reiterated, adding the wild shake of her head in the negative to get her message across. "Don't do it."

Another roar of disagreement thundered from him and his body fidgeted with impatiens. His blackened feet shuffled restlessly but his head cocked again. This time one of his pointed ears turned toward her with its respective eye glued to her. Her pointer finger directed his eye down to the wall and then back up to where his feet gripped the tree limb. Repeatedly attempting to show him the connection of what her next words meant.

"Too far." She explained, trying to think of the simplest way to get her message across.

The flapping gesture that made her look like an umpire declaring someone 'safe' was utilized again. Intended to convince him what a bad idea it was. His head twitched this way and that, attempting to comprehend what his strange meal was trying to say. She watched his teeth-gnashing expression morph into one of serious thought while he reexamined the distance a third time. The calculating look on his nightmarish face sent a chill through her deeper than any of his hostile sounds had.

Unexpected curiosity made her shift into a more comfortable position with her legs crossed in front of her. She watched with baited breath as he began looking less confident in his assessment of the jump. Even so, she was dismayed to find him readying himself once more. Alarm accompanied the former feeling as she realized she did not want him to die.

"No! No! No! _No!_ " She hurriedly shouted across the open space, all the while flailing her arms like a madwoman. She forcefully pointed down at the fence, throwing her shoulder into the insistent gesture.

A sudden idea came to her and she sat up with her legs under her, elevating her body higher. Her finger jabbed toward the fence once more. She made a continuous buzzing noise and jerked her body in convulsions meant to mimic electrocution. All while her finger still pointed toward what would cause that to happen to him. The jerking of her slack head prevented her from seeing the way his eyes widened in amazement. An early memory of one of his own dying much the same way connected the missing link in his brain. She cut the buzzing off abruptly and fell back against the shingles limply to illustrate what would happen to him when he jumped and came up too short. A clipped half roar sounded out as he impatiently waited for her lifeless body to move again. Another chirped out and she could have sworn it had an edge of concern to it. A sarcastic chuckle left her and she mentally told herself she'd been baking in the sun too long.

When she popped upright she caught sight of him jumping back, startled away from the wobbling end of a thinner unreliable branch that'd allowed him to peer closer. She let out an amused snort and watched him resume his place on his favored one. Just to be sure he understood she waved her arms outward and sent him one last stern yet humored warning.

"No. …You'll fry like bacon."

He let out a low prolonged rumbling that rose in volume as his body began to tremble. She couldn't see the enraged shivers from the distance between them. But she got a front row seat to his outburst over her being right. The meltdown caught her off guard. During the show her jaw dropped father than it did upon her first sight of him. He jumped from tree to tree erratically. Ripping off whole mature branches thicker than his body to throw at the wall. Slashing any surface near him with his talons while his arms flung wildly. Releasing long drawn out roars during the destruction, akin to a toddler wailing during a tantrum. The spectacle he was making of himself made her laugh out loud once the similarity registered in her mind. It was deep and hearty. But most importantly, genuine. Unlike the polite chuckles she'd released to seem more normal since she'd been orientated.

Her laughter slowly died and her cheeks ached from the unforced smile that stayed on her face. The absence of her own voice allowed her to hear the echoes of his fit bouncing off the other distant houses. Her face pinched in a worried expression. She realized the racket he was making needed to end quickly. The sight of an aberration running amuck so close to the wall would make any first-generationers who saw it call the sheriff. He would be shot on sight. Should any uninformed adults spot him or hear the petulant sounds he was letting out, the consequences would be much worse. Her own adult charges had continued their squabbling. She could hear them each time he paused to suck in more air. Their dysfunctionalism was working in her favor instead of against her for once.

"Psst. Hey." She tried to gain his attention quietly, realizing she'd been shouting through out their interaction too. When he proved too self-absorbed in his fury she was forced to yell out of necessity. "Hey!"

The exclamation made him turn. His lips curled back in a fresh snarl and his eyes darted to a nearby branch. He chucked the slender leaf-dotted sapling at her. It landed in her backward, hardly clearing the wooden fence surrounding her property. He rushed forward, charging to the end of the limb, letting a series of more enraged roars fly toward her now that he was reminded of the cause of his anger.

"Shhh, hey, stop. Sh sh sh sh." She tried to quiet him with a soft tone and calm gestures. Her hands rose and she brought them down slowly, trying to embody the lowering of volume with a physical presentation. She switched between that tactic and pushing her hands outward to signal a stop. Making a fool of herself in the process while she tried to save his life yet again. "It's okay, please stop. Shhhh."

Eventually with enough shushing on her part his rampage deflated. He ended up seated on the branch. Glowering at her while his legs dangled off either side of it. She sat back too, bracing her legs to keep her body from sliding. She could see him let out a defeated huff of frustration.

"It's not the end of the world. I probably wouldn't have tasted good anyways. And I'm too skinny. No meat on my bones." She tried to reassure him, raising her arm to mock-bite into her own meager flesh. His head quirked at her inquiringly and he snapped his jaws once.

"Yeah, no. Not happening" She replied as she shook her head and threw her arm away from her face. It flung out, sweeping far away from her mouth, her hand fluttering in a disapproving motion at the end.

They sat staring at one another in the waning twilight. He hadn't run off in search of something else to devour like she'd assumed he would. It made her feel special in a way. Similar to the privilege she felt when she was a kid and a dove had allowed her to view its eggs hatch from a distance. She started to wonder if he was unique. Or if all the aberrations had an underlying capacity to communicate with humans on this basic level. When they weren't eating them. Her mind wandered down many scientific avenues as time passed. After a certain point the darkness of a moonless night stole him from her sight.

"Lisa, dinner's ready!" The feminine voice shouting from the bottom of the attic's stairs startled her more than the roar that answered for her.

"What?" Her makeshift mother asked. The squeak of the first step groaned out as she began to climb.

"I said good!" Lisa quickly snapped. Panic made her voice more ill-tempered than usual as she turned toward the opening. "I'll be down in a minute! Thank you!"

She waited until the wooden step creaked with the relief of removed weight. Her head turned back toward the darkness and she lifted her face to the cooling breeze. Taking in one last indulgent breath of fabricated freedom. She raised her arm and waved goodbye to him, not knowing whether he could see her. As she climbed through the windowpane and turned to shut it she kept her head down. Afraid her eyes would glance up for one last sad look at the shingles. She did not intend to return to her no-longer private place. The close call that'd just occurred made it clear to her that she couldn't. The risk of him returning and being discovered was too great for both of them. With a deeply depressed sigh she latched the window's lock and turned away.

* * *

 **Author's note:** _I know it's shorter than the chapters I usually write. And possibly crappier. Ha. I'll try to have chapter two posted tonight before Season 2's first episode airs. Or tomorrow afternoon. Extra pines points to anyone who made the connection to where the fic's title is derived from._

 _(Young Frankenstien!)_


	2. Normal

**Author's Note:** _Last night's episode was intriguing. Some details from my story will differ in ways from the show. Like the annoying buzzing sound the fence makes and the lights on it. Huge plot hole my story points out- Why can't TV abbies climb trees? There were a lot of birch trees very close to the fence in that first shot of the last scene (no spoilers). What the hell? Alright I'm done ranting. Again, I had time for little editing. Sorry. Thank you for reading and/or reviewing. Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

Lisa's days there had always been a repetitive blur. Dress appropriately for every occasion. Arrive to school on time. Give the right answer. Look happy. Keep the secret. Do it all again. The routine had been manageable until the last months of her senior year.

The entire first class had been corralled into the auditorium on a day in February she remembered Valentines day used to be celebrated on. Mrs. Fisher had revisited the biology lecture they'd been given years prior with a new twist added at the end. They were to choose their procreation partners by graduation day and no later. The ceremony would double as a mass wedding. By prom night they were expected to begin creating the second generation. They were to tell their parents nothing. It would eventually be accepted, as most unusual things were, as the normal way weddings were conducted in Wayward Pines.

The manipulative woman might as well have fired a starting gun along with her final words. Pre-established couples had calmly found each other afterwards. Happy to receive the joyous news that they would soon be allowed to wed and start families. Single males however, scrambled frantically to find their other half. She'd found it funny that these students seemed to fall into two categories.

Over-entitled specimens who'd enjoyed freely playing the field until that point. Their chiseled features cracking into confident grins as they aggressively approached their choices. And the demure intellectual types who approached their respective counterparts shyly. Pushing their glasses up the bridge of their noses while their cheeks erupted in mortified fiery patches.

She'd received both types of suitors. Stragglers from the first group thanks to her being relatively physically attractive. Braver inquirers from the second group thanks to her tendency to be a loner who didn't let anyone closer than a casual acquaintances for appearances sake. And many in between.

That day, she'd taken pity on one who'd broken into an asthma attack while trying to talk to her. Threading her arm through his to lead him away toward a restroom and appease the blonde woman watching the students. The next morning when others approached and questioned the lad, word got out among the remaining men that a less homely girl was unpaired. She hadn't had a tolerable school day in the months since.

Every morning now it started with her next door neighbor walking her to school. She'd allow him to engage her in meaningless conversation until they reached the end of their street. Where they'd be joined by another who insisted on carrying her backpack. And then another who'd argue with the second over whom should be allowed to do it.

This carried on until she arrived at Wayward Pines academy with a gaggle of young-adult men flocking behind her. Either arguing with one another or trying to break her steely silence with their cheerful chatter. She hadn't carried her own books from class to class in weeks. The lunch table she chose each day threatened to spill over with the amount of trays that tried to squeeze onto the limited space. Her name and unwelcome complements were called out in every hallway if the senders weren't able to shadow her to her next classroom.

By early April she'd taken measures to thin the herd. Going as far as introducing some of the quieter respectful ones to lonely ladies who'd cried into their pillows at night over not being approached. They took the hint. The only words she'd ever spoken to them being ones that introduced them to other women. Others had not been so easily deterred. Late April brought a fist fight between two of her more muscled followers. Their agitation had spilled over into the first physical altercation in the school's history. After that incident she'd felt the counselor's eyes on her more heavily each day.

May entailed the stress of final exams and the pressure of the approaching romantic deadline, not only for her. Her burden had dwindled to eight including her friendly neighbor. A few of the dimmer physically oriented ones had finally figured out that there were six females left including herself. A revelation that upped their intensity when it dawned on them that their remaining prospects were either her, one of 'the leftovers', or no one.

The increasing panic made one overstep his boundaries the day after she'd been forced to give up her rooftop haven. She'd begun pointedly sitting with the girls the students had given the cruel nickname to. Lisa was pleased to see conversations eventually being started around her. Once the young women had stopped glaring at her. Expressions of gratitude flashed her way instead after they caught onto what she was trying to do. She hadn't returned the early scathing looks because she understood. She had many she didn't want while they had none.

She wordlessly ate and refused to respond to any that tried. Sipping her water she watched from the corner of her eye as a soccer player brushed back the red hair of a chess club member. His charming smile melted her like ice cream while he cleaned her glasses and complemented the freckles adorning her nose. The girl's breathless giggles made her head turn for a better look. A rare un-choreographed smile spread across her face while she watched him propose dramatically. Secretly he'd been one of the few she'd favored in her mind. His sense of humor was endearing and he'd been a patient gentlemen where others hadn't.

The girl mouthed the words "thank you" at her during the couple's celebratory hug. Lisa flashed her a quick thumb up to tell her she was welcome and began clapping. A curious thought crossed her mind about whether or not the abby she'd met could interpret non-verbal persuasions better than her human shadows. Her applause became purposeful as she looked around at the remaining males. Attempting to make her approval of one leaving their ranks as clear as a bell without saying so. Unfortunately they deciphered it as her desire for them to join in. The entire dining hall ended up following suit. The timid girl's cheeks matched her hair as her charismatic new fiancé held their entwined hands high in victory.

A domino effect happened before her eyes as another and then another asked and the girls consented. Two more pairs of hands were thrust into the air and more applause came from the general population. A cult-like chant rose in favor of the first generation. Each pair of students, row upon row, holding their chosen one's hand up proudly and rocking it along with the words. She did not join in and suddenly it felt like all their eyes were on her. Many usually were as of late. The pitch rose higher into a roar that hurt her ears and made her feel like the entire cafeteria was chanting at her alone. Chanting for her to choose.

Unwelcome physical contact made her jump. Her hand was captured and hoisted into the air. A cheer interrupted the chant and spread down the lines of tables. Her mouth dropped open and her brows furrowed with outrage as she turned to look at the offender. He was the most brutish of the lot. A tyrant that'd pushed her neighborly friend out of the way for a seat directly next to her. She shook her head and tried to pull her hand away. The angry expression on her face deepened as his fingers tightened around hers. His thick brow rose in challenge for her to say otherwise.

"No!" She bellowed at him through the noise. It was hardly the first time she'd given him that answer.

She desperately tried to get free with downward tugging. When his football-hardened muscles refused she stood up, leaning over quickly. Her blunt teeth sunk into the back of his hand until her fingers felt freedom. She left her belongings where they sat and fled the cafeteria. Too upset to care as the din died down into furtive whispers. She could hear her remaining suitors calling after her. Their footsteps made her stride increase to close the hallway length between herself and the shelter of the girls room.

Panicked breathing sounded through the empty bathroom. She paced the strip of floor between the sinks and stalls. Her hands came up to bury in her hair as she realized what she'd done. Violent acts were forbidden. She did not think she would be reckoned for the bite but she feared another form of punishment.

"Lisa Muller, report to Mrs. Fisher's office for counseling." came an emotionless voice over the building-wide PA system.

She froze in place during the short announcement. A terrified sob left her and she glanced up at the camera in the corner. As her head lifted she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Blood marred her lips and chin, dribbling down onto her pristine uniform. The salty tang on her taste buds registered in her distraught mind and she rushed to a sink. Water splashed across her face before she bent over, tilting her head to let fresh wetness rush in and erase the metallic taste from her mouth. The order rang out from its speakers again and she rushed to dry her skin with a thick lump of dread settling into her throat.

Each step was used to calculate how she could fix what she'd done. Her refusal to make a choice had disrupted the blissful anonymity she'd worked to achieve. She'd maintained it so well previously talk had broken out among her peers when she hadn't chosen someone during the first month. As everyone had passed the same questions mouth to mouth they'd realized no one knew her. Not one of them could recall what music she liked, what kind of food she preferred, what her favorite color was. Anyone who'd managed to get her to speak in the past or present found themselves dissecting her short nondescript answers. Nothing. She was the only secret kept from the first generation, as far as their young minds knew.

James Johnson knew one thing he'd kept to himself. The mystery of Wayward Pines liked to sit on her roof. The angle of her house in relation to his made it impossible to see exactly what she was doing up there. Unless he stood in the farthest corner of his backyard where he could see a small fraction of her hiding place. He'd seen her reading books up there he couldn't make out the titles of. That was the only bit of information he'd let loose when classmates had hounded him. Being the original guy to walk to school with her had made him a go-to for questions. People had eventually left him alone when he repeatedly said he only knew that she liked to read. He'd learned his lesson after books had started appearing in piles. On her doorstep. In front of her locker. The desks she sat in every period. Guilt weighed on his conscience as a result. James could tell she didn't like the attention but that observation would have fallen on def ears. With the absence of reality tv shows and movie stars she was just about the most entertaining thing for the hormone-ridden population to gawk at and gossip about.

It didn't surprise him that her three other pursuers weren't the only ones rushing to the guidance office. The growing crowd struggled amongst themselves to peer between the blinds. A collective groan rose in the hallway when Mrs. Fisher briskly turned them closed.

"Lisa I don't believe I've had the pleasure of seeing you in my office before." The blonde woman cheerfully noted. She placed a friendly hand on her shoulder as she passed on the way back to her desk.

"I haven't needed any guidance."

"Until now." she corrected, folding her hands on the desktop with a knowing look.

Lisa nodded her head in agreement and did her best to look ashamed. She was prepared to give the teacher the answers she wanted and play her part. She'd been ready for this. She'd known since she'd unwillingly became the first celebrity of Wayward Pines this meeting had been inevitable.

"Why have you not selected a partner for the final ceremony?" Mrs. Fish inquired with a concerned tilt of her head.

The blue eyes weighing on her were calculating. Observing every movement of her body for information.

"I haven't found anyone I like." She replied with a shrug she hoped made her appear at ease about the topic they were discussing.

"Do you find yourself attracted to the opposite sex, Lisa? Are women more appealing to you?"

The question threw the young lady off guard. She quickly took the opportunity to demonstrate her false devotion.

"Why would you ask me that? Are you implying David Pilcher, our brilliant savior, made an error and selected a homosexual for one of his chosen?" She demanded with a defensive tone that was meant to show how absurd she thought it was to question the doctor's almighty plan.

"No, of course not dear. But I am curious, why do you think selecting a homosexual would be an error?"

"Because homosexuals can not reproduce with their own gender. Creating the next generation is the most important objective." she automatically replied as she saw where their conversation was headed.

"Then is liking the boy you select to procreate with not, insignificant, in the grand scheme of mankind's survival?"

Lisa's mouth opened to deliver a retort of how demeaning the counselor's advice was. It closed without a sound and she looked away. Refusing to give the answer Mrs. Fisher wanted, or any at all.

The older woman leaned back in her chair, pleased with the flash of repulsion that showed on the girl's face. She'd been a hard book to read. Guarded, yet placating the entirety of her school years. The model of a good student from the day of her orientation onward. But too reserved. Cut off from the rest of the population. And now she was showing an aptitude for spitting out scripted replies meant to please her.

"What do you do in your spare time Lisa?" She questioned with the intention of changing subjects. Hoping to get an authentic unprepared response. "You aren't involved in any of the extracurricular activities here. And you don't appear to leave your home other than to attend school. How do you expect to find someone you like if you don't socialize?"

The last unsettling bit of information made the girl's eyes flicker to her. A hostile gleam in them told her she wasn't as at ease with the way of life in Wayward Pines as she tried to appear. Any student who genuinely was, wouldn't show displeasure at being monitored for the good of the community. Again she tried to elicit a verbal response by changing direction.

"Do you have an idea as to what profession you'd like to undertake after you graduate and become a productive member of society?"

Mrs. Fisher watched Lisa's downcast eyes move to the discreet camera located in a clock on the wall. The way her teeth clasped her bottom lip told her the girl was struggling with indecision.

Lisa had been a ship floating adrift at sea. Directionless and uninspired about what she wanted to do with her life. Until the events of last evening had consumed her thoughts the hours following. She was unsure how to word her answer and broach the unorthodox subject safely.

"Are there any positions, in the town or behind the scenes, that deal with.. the aberrations?" She carefully asked with hesitation. Lisa watched expressions of surprise and confusion sweep across the woman's face.

Mrs. Fisher was visibly taken aback by the girl's question. She adjusted her shawl and composed herself with a sweet smile.

"Of course not." She chuckled as though it were a silly notion. But the way one of her brows rose a fraction of an inch hinted to the possibility of a different opinion. "I don't know why anyone would want to deal with those horrid things. Why on earth would you?"

"I just…" She began, pausing to decide if she should guard herself with a lie or open herself up with the truth. "I enjoy the sciences. They're my favorite subjects and I've been thinking…"

"Go on dear, you can tell me." Mrs. Fisher coaxed. "We all have dreams."

The flippant way her former teacher had reacted to her first question made her reluctant. She realized if she never voiced what she wanted for her future she was guaranteed not to get it.

"What if..the aberrations were to re-evolve?"

Unbridled laughter sounded through the office. There were no misleading pretenses in it. She thought her ridiculous.

"That would never happen. At least not for thousands of years." Mrs. Fisher arrogantly assured her.

"How do we know if no one is studying them?" She quickly insisted. Lisa was unable to keep up the appearance of mild interest. She was sitting at the edge of her chair and ready to argue her point.

"Doctor Pilcher would know if that were possible. Don't you think a man as brilliant as he would have already thought of something along those lines?" Megan asserted, looking down her nose at the girl in a way that belittled her intelligence. As though Lisa should have already known her statement as a fact of life.

"I wouldn't dare say a word against Doctor Pilcher. We owe him everything." She clarified. Appeasing the counselor before truly speaking her mind. "But if research and experiments made it possible for humans to co-exist safely with the aberrations in a way that wasn't discovered before.."

The hard set line of Mrs. Fisher's mouth discouraged her. The way she'd glanced at the clock as Lisa went on made her shut down out of fear.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean any disrespect toward our savior. I only want to contribute to the survival of Wayward Pines through-"

"And you shall my dear." She agreed while cutting her student off. Mrs. Fisher continued, steering her in the right direction. "In the form of a mother to the next generation and a cog in the machine that makes the normalcy of Wayward Pines continue."

"But you just asked me what I wanted for my future." Lisa stammered, her eyes growing large with desperation. "Why ask me if you don't care about what I want or how I feel?"

"I do care. I care about all my students because they are our future. But how you feel about what must be done doesn't matter. The continuation of our race and the keeping of order does." Mrs. Fisher reminded her, reiterating the core belief in their way of life.

Lisa sat back and let Mrs. Fisher's predictable words deflate her hope. She should have known there were no real alternative options for her future. The conversation had been a bait and switch trap to get her to open up. Something she would not allow to happen again. She wordlessly hung her head and kept her glassy eyes on her lap as the blonde continued.

"Your failure to select a partner has disrupted the order of this learning environment. It has caused more than one altercation of unsanctioned violence now. The ice you skate upon with your indecision is thinning rapidly Miss Muller. If another disruption occurs on your behalf we will be forced to implement assigned life partners next year for the second class."

She'd thought herself numb after being told she only had one pre-chosen place in life. But a wave of guilt consumed her at the knowledge that her actions could cost the younger students what small scrap of free will they had left. Her head snapped up and a truly shocked look of disbelief lowered her mouth. She quickly tried to compose herself, her mouth wordlessly moving a time or two while she struggled to speak.

"I haven't done anything Mrs. Fisher. I can't control what the other students do. I've already told them I'm not interested in them but they won't listen. I think it'd be best if you educate your male students on the concept of consent and the meaning of the word 'no'. Instead of punishing others for a few individuals lack of self control." She tried to reason with the woman, unable to believe someone who put out such a peaceful persona would be completely comfortable with such unethical treatment.

Mrs. Fisher bobbed her head in agreement and the girl felt a short-lived relief.

"There will be consequences for the actions those young men chose to take. But we are discussing your lack of action at the moment. And its consequence, should more chaos result from it in the future." She corrected Lisa, holding one finger up to illustrate her individual responsibility in the conversation with a smile that held no pity. She continued when the girl gave no further argument. "You have two choices about the direction your future takes. Either choose someone the sooner the better. No later than graduation day. Or become the reckoning example of those who fail to contribute to populating the next generation."

Lisa's heart sank at the cheerfully delivered death threat. A thick lump of fear, hopelessness, and defeat was swallowed on her part. She forced a small pleasant smile onto her face and nodded her head.

"Yes ma'am, I understand. I apologize to David Pilcher and Wayward Pines for the trouble I have caused. I will correct my mistakes at the earliest possible opportunity and I am thankful for the generous opportunity to do so." She vowed contritely. Her defenses were back up and her perfect Pines persona was back in place to stay. No matter how much it crushed her spirit to do so.

The moment she was allowed to leave the office she was swarmed. People asking questions and closing in on her made her suck in a panicked breath. She stood on her tiptoes trying to see over shoulders and heads as her insufficient height boxed her in further. A familiar mop of brown hair flashed between two heads toward the back of the crowd. She started squeezing through them without excusing herself and the mass parted on its own accord. Lisa stopped in front of a lanky boy who's uniform tie was askew and imperfect.

"James Johnson, would you do me the honor of becoming my husband and the future father of my children on June sixth?" She proposed with the same hand she'd drawn blood over, extended for him to accept.

He didn't hesitate to take it. The crowd applauded with a few disappointed boys half-heartedly clapping their congratulations. As the couple walked back to the cafeteria hand in hand a male name was beckoned over the announcement system. All was as it should have been for the next generation once more. How Doctor Pilcher had ordained it to be.

* * *

The sweaty hand wrapped around hers made her sigh despondently. The positive side of being figuratively shackled to the boy next to her meant their walks home were now peaceful and un-bothered. Public interest in her had waned by the end of the school day in general. Less people seemed to care about her mysteriousness once she'd been paired. It was a small blessing in exchange for her stance to remain alone and in control of her love life. She tried to let go of the tight ball of misery expanding inside her chest and moved her head toward the forest visible between each house they passed. The unhappy noise his fiancé had let out made James' head turn discreetly to look down at her.

"Why do you always stare at the trees?" He blurted out. James felt her relaxed hand stiffen in his at the question and her head snapped toward him.

"What do you mean _always_?" Lisa demanded coolly. Her green orbs scrutinized his face as he struggled and failed to think of a way to smooth over his slipup.

"I…ah.. Sometimes I see you sitting on your house staring at the trees for a long time.." He admitted with a cringe. Quickly going on to apologize when her pouty mouth pulled down into a frown. "I'm sorry I asked, I just wondered, you don't have to-"

"It's the leaves, not the trees." She interrupted. Lisa was panicking on the inside just as much as he was on the outside. Though for a different reason. "When they blow in the wind it makes me de-stress. It's relaxing for me."

They arrived in front of his house shortly and she stepped in front of him, taking his other hand in her empty one. Lisa looked up into his eyes with a serious expression.

"I'll be your wife in a few weeks. I promise after graduation I will do my best to fulfill my obligations to you when the time comes. But until then, I want to be left alone after school hours." She emphasized the last sentence with a squeeze of his hands and she took a step closer to him. Her voice dropped and her tone became less friendly. "I don't want to spend time with you. Or get to know you better. I don't want you coming over unannounced to introduce yourself to my parents. I don't want you on my property at all. I don't want you looking at my house. Do you understand? I don't want you to even go out in your backyard, am I clear? Please respect the privacy I am asking for. If you give me these last few weeks of freedom I will remember it through out the years of our marriage."

His brows rose in surprised confusion but he nodded and opened his palms to let her go. He already knew she was odd but the way she spoke when she wasn't being prompted to answer questions or returning mundane replies to his attempts at conversation unnerved him. Which was why she managed to turn and walk away a few steps before he could gather his wits and ask her a question.

"If you don't wanna know me or hang out why'd you pick me?" he called out after her.

She stopped walking and he watched her small shoulders rise and fall with a heaving sigh. When she turned toward him the tight smile she always sported inside Wayward Pines academy was on her face. Her stride was quick but her touch was gentle as she grabbed his arm and guided him toward the middle of his concrete driveway. She stepped in close and wrapped her arms around the back of his neck as though they were dancing. She hissed for him to put his arms around her because of speakers and he complied awkwardly.

"I chose you because Fisher threatened to reckon me if I didn't choose someone. And you're the farthest thing from Jason Higgins I've seen in our generation yet. I've never heard you speak a word of Pilcher propaganda." She whispered while gazing up at him. The same manufactured smile stretched her lips through all her words to come. Lisa decided she owed him simplified honesty in this subject.

"The things we have in town…" She began, uncertain exactly which words to allot him. "Cosmetics. Toothpaste. Clothing. Soda. They come from somewhere. Someone somewhere watches us all day and night. There is much more here than the town. There's an unseen network of people who make this place work. I want to be a part of it in a different way."

Lisa paused to take a breath and discreetly locate the cameras in his yard with only her eyes. His head began to turn in the direction of a lens she spotted nearby. Her hand rose to cup his cheek lovingly and stop him. She growled a one word warning of "cameras" from between her clenched smiling teeth and continued.

"They, the same _they_ that control Wayward Pines and are watching us right now to see if I'm faking. They want a baby and a marriage from me. If I have any chance of getting the profession I want, I have to give them what they want first. Even then I still might not get it. But I will at least get to continue living if I keep playing along."

James' mouth dropped open and a look of outrage flashed across his face. She quickly reminded him to look happy and he listened, to her surprise. One of his hands brushed back and fourth across her back and he bowed his head to speak more discreetly.

"You didn't break any rules. They wouldn't reckon you for no reason…but the whole reason we're here is to…like make more people and take back the planet…" He reasoned, realizing just how weird she really was. "What kind of job wouldn't let you have a family at the same time? Can't you just..be a housewife or a teacher or something that'll make Wayward Pines better?"

Her eyes narrowed at his disappointing words. It appeared to her that she'd overestimated his individuality. As far as she knew there were no rebels within the first generation because they all knew the secret. She'd foolishly hoped James would have at least been a freer thinker behind the casual conversations they'd held. Lisa blamed herself for not fleshing out his beliefs before proposing to him. The girl voiced her displeasure and dropped another piece of the mask she'd been hiding behind.

"I want to be a zookeeper. Not one of the animals." She snapped lowly as she tilted her head in the direction of the camera and then shook it at him in miniscule movements. "The position I aim for would make Wayward Pines and the world outside it a better place. More than any mother or teacher ever could."

Lisa planted a quick forceful kiss on his lips though she really wanted to strangle him for making her assume he was different. She pulled away and left him standing in his driveway with more questions than answers. Skipping like a little schoolgirl crossed her mind so she could reach her front door faster. She ended up continuing her measured pace across the field, deciding the gay action would look too staged.

The smile stayed intact for the cameras as she shrugged off her backpack and started climbing the stairs to her home's second floor. She trudged past the door she truly wanted to be walking through and entered her bedroom. The things around her weren't really hers. Every girl in town had the same hair brush. The same pillows and bead spread. The colors and styles varied slightly but they all had the same generic base. Manufactured to add to the illusion. She stood there looking at her hoax of a bedroom and the smile started to crack.

It started with the drooping of its right corner as she sat on the edge of her bed and tried to tell herself everything would be alright. A spasm of her cheek tried to fight it, lifting and then dropping again when she couldn't keep it up. She shot up and ran for the attic door as the burning in her eyes became overwhelming. Her desperation to not let them see her cry outweighed the decision she'd made the night before.

The attic's lone camera was easily dodged and she ran for the window. Her fingers fumbled with the latch as the first tears started falling. She burst through the opening and sucked in large gasps of fresh air. As though the surveillance devices had oppressed her lungs as well as her actions. The breaths kept coming faster like she couldn't get enough as the sadness and anger started pouring out. She closed the window behind her and sat down, leaning her head back against it to keep it closed. One last desperate inhale filled her lungs before she let out a scream of fury that lasted until they were empty.

Tears slowly leaked from her unblinking eyes as she stared blankly at the empty trees across from her. She wished for blissful numbness to replace the aching hopelessness that stabbed her chest. A sniffle sounded out while she sucked snot back into her nose and her gaze moved to the deep claw marks in a maple's trunk. The pain of having her newfound dreams crushed made the first despondent wail slip from her lips. She curled in on herself as more losses crossed her mind, bowing her head to her knees. The mournful sobs she let out grew louder the less she held everything in. She cried so hard the pulls of air she took in sounded just as sorrow-filled as the ones she wept out.

Her head felt like it was on the verge of exploding by the time her howls of torment died down in volume. A soft grunting reached her ears between her sorrowful whimpers. Her head wrenched up hard enough to make her aching skull smack against the glass behind it. The puffiness of her eyes made her blink a few times to get her watery pupils to focus. Through the receding blurriness she made out a grey outline. He came into full clarity as he raised his arm up high and waved it from side to side at her. A huge grin bloomed on her tear-streaming face and she waved back at him.

"You just made my day buddy." She told him with a half-hearted laugh.

Hysterical cackling bubbled from her mouth as he roared back and waved again, repeating the greeting he'd learned from her.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** _If season 2's first episode taught me anything it was to save the abbies for the end. The next chapter will be abby heavy and posted sometime before or after next week's episode._


	3. Scout

**Author's Note:** _I held off on posting because I wanted to see where the show was going after I started seeing my ideas popping up on the screen. -_- I shouldn't be frustrated because obviously the storyline for the show was written way before I even knew Wayward pines existed. It's just a pain in the ass to have these concepts planned and then have the show present them before I have a chance to write them out. I've had to re-figure some stuff for future chapters because of it. I had this chapter formed way before the idea of abbies having "scouts" premiered on the show. I have no evidence to prove it, just frustration to stew in. Rant over and out. Enjoy!_

* * *

At first she'd wondered how the abby knew the motion was used as both a greeting and a goodbye.

She sat waving back to him until her arm grew sore. When she paused to rest and didn't return the movement a squawk of dislike flew at her.

A depleted but amused sigh left her and a half-smile spread across her damp face. She indulged him again though a painful twinge ran through her shoulder. She realized he had no real concept of what the motion meant. He was simply enthralled with the novelty of learning something new.

As she humored him she watched the reappearance of his teeth in what she'd generously call a smile. It was hard to discern from the natural way the abby's mouth often displayed the ferocious rows. She had to squint to see the corners of his lips raised upward. It was a subtle physical difference unlike the varied sounds he made.

Lisa felt a gust of wind push her hair forward, sweeping down the roof's slope to travel across the distance. She was glad to see it distract him from their waving as his nostrils flared. His misshapen head slowly tilted from one side to another while his agape mouth kept consuming the scented air. She found her own head cocking as his actions painted a picture of confusion. The breeze changed direction and he began to pace. Every once in a while a gust would blow his way and make him fidget inquisitively.

She bent her head and tugged her uniform's collar upward to smell herself with a self-conscious frown. The skin of her thumb caught against a rough patch. The unusual sensation made her pull the material out further to inspect. Reddish brown splotches against crisp white cotton came into her downturned view.

"You're wondering why you smell blood on me, eh?" she half-heartedly chuckled at him. "I had a really really really bad day."

Silently she wondered what effect it was having on his perception of her. She doubted he'd been in close proximity to any human before.

"Which would most likely mean there's been no way for him to have smelt the blood of a human on another human before." she whispered to herself as she let her sullied polo go to unbutton and romove her crested blazer. "He's only smelt it on fellow abbies during feeding.. until now."

"I wonder if he can tell it's not mine…"

Lisa began looking for any sign of concern on his face while he paced. She snorted at herself for even entertaining the idea that an abby could be capable of such a feeling and reached up to loosen the tie around her neck. Her mouth fell open just as quickly, appauled at how much the thought inside her head sounded like Mrs. Fisher. She prickled at the similarity and threw her jacket through the open window. Turning back, she found him in the same befuddled state.

Assuming he were capable, that would mean he could discern different scents from a fair distance. She deduced that at the moment he was only perplexed and disturbed by the anomaly of her bloodspattered smell. A roar of confusion rumbled at her. On a whim she tried to copy it. Appempting to send the roar with the same inquisitive jump in pitch at its end that his had carried.

The abby's eyes widened in a shocked way. He slowly crept toward the end of his branch and squinted at her as his head buzzed with the unfamiliar sensation of hard thought. He lingered there, struggling to comprehend what she was. The abundant hair that sprouted from her head and flowed around her frame was what confused him most aside from the blood. The lone human he'd witnessed from afar had sported a hard shell on its head and smelt distinctly male. Like the blood peppering her scent.

A light, short, sound she'd equate to a chirp eventually came from his mouth. At the same time one of his clawed-limbs left the bark underneath it and raised slowly. It extended toward her claws-first, as though he were reaching out for her.

Despite her intense fear of heights she began crawling down to the roof's edge, stopping momentarily half way there when her skirt caught between the shingles and her knees. The vertigo of being so close to the gutter churned her stomach but she kept her eyes firmly on the grey hand in the distance. She began to raise her right one to mimic him. The feeling of losing her balance overcame her and it quickly smacked back down onto the roof. She sucked in a terrified gasp.

She tried again. Moving slower this time in the hope of warding off the sensation of plunging head first down into the barbeque grill below. When her open palm was stretched out as far as her arm would allow she released her sound.

It ended up coming out more distressed than his had. But never the less, he reacted to it. His hand dropped back to the limb and he began bouncing on it excitedly. His head bobbed in an affirmative motion at the same time. The entire display reminded her of happy chinpanzees on one of the National Geographic episodes she used to watch with her father. He completed the mental picture in her mind as his lips curled back and an unusual delighted sound vibrated from his seemingly grinning mouth.

A smile of her own crept out and her hand returned to the sturdy surface beneath her. She didn't know what she'd just done but it seemed to be a good thing in his perspective. Rather than have to turn around and take her eyes off him she began cautiously backtracking. Scooting centimeter by terrifying centimeter up the slope. She watched him turn halfway toward the forest and release a long-winded defening roar. One that made her glad her adult roommates weren't home from their respective jobs yet.

With her butt firmly planted in her confort zone a feeling of relief settled over her. It lingered briefly before she realized something unusual was going on. He had his back turned to her for the first time. His face was eagerly pointed toward the woods and his dirt-splattered backside was gracing her with its presence. It seemed unusual to her because she knew a predator rarely turned its back on what it viewed as prey or a threat. Her pondering of what he thought of her was interrupted by a distant answer to his call.

Her freaful inhale made him turn back to her. The same ecstatic look was streached across his face and he made a complete circle. As though he were expectantly waiting on something. They didn't have to wait long before cracking branches and leaf-rustling bodies were moving close enough for her inadequate ears to hear. Suspenseful seconds made her heart race with anxiety. The thought of going inside and hiding quickly crossed her mind. Before she could act on the comforting impulse a hulking black shape burst from the high foliage and renderd her frozen.

A larger abby approached the one she was familiar with as two more shapes emerged onto twin tree limbs close by. They were smaller than the grey one in both height and width. To the point that she labled them young adults in her mind. The pair certainly acted like juveniles. Wrestling and play-growling with one another until the darkest abby turned to reprimand them with a short roar. They joined him and paid attention as the grey one began making sounds that were too quiet for her to hear. As though he were talking to the other larger male.

Her abby pointed down toward the fence before corssing and forcibly uncrossing his muscled arms. Lisa's jaw fell without a sound. Three heads cocked at him in unison. She thought she imagined him letting out a frustrated huff at them. He pointed to the fence again and made a failed attempt at re-creating the buzzing sound she'd used to demonstrate electrocution. It came out a grugle instead while he simultaneously fell limp against the tree's trunk.

A repeated slapping sound made his eyes shoot open. The other three jumped at the startling noise and turned to attack the source. The grey abbey rushed to stop them, abandoning the educated gestures to violently ram his shoulder first into the chest of the larger black one, and then the smaller. By the time he reached the ghostly white abby at the end he was too late. It impulsively flung itself off the branch, eager to sink its teeth into the juicy meat despite the fence's death sentence.

The grey abby dived after it, wrapping a hand around its pale ankle so hard his claws dug in and drew blood. In turn, his ankle was captured by the black adolescent abby. The sight of him falling toward his death made Lisa scream. The shrill sound made the obsidian giant glance up at her for a milicecond before he lunged to grab the last link in the daisy-chain of abbies. Its shoulder swiftly dipped down. Biceps thicker than her head easily held onto their combined weight. Its already heavy brow-ridge lowered in a flat un-amused face of aggravation as the chain of bodies swung away from the fence. He didn't appear at all reluctant to let them crash into the tree's trunk. A grunt of satisfaction left him and his clenched fist released the lot of them. Each abby caught a wayward branch between their claws. The lightest of the bunch sustained a knock to its skull as it failed to dig its anchors in far enough.

It briskly shook off a hit that would have knocked a human unconscious and made Lisa let out an unintentional snort of amusement. Her hand slapped over her mouth as eyes at various levels in the tree turned toward her. Three thunderous roars erupted at her while the stormy-colored abbey continued climbing. She pressed herself closer to the vibrating glass and both of her hands rushed to cover her ears. Through winces and squinted eyes she spied her familiar abby pushing at the darker one's arm when he reached him. The loudest abnormal voice cut off and the double high pitched screeches followed shortly after.

Her brows rose in surprise as the grey abby began animatedly growling and gesturing while the one that appeared to be the leader listened and occasionally growled back. Some of the movements he used were distinctly ones he'd witnessed her carry out. The younger two reached them quickly and became engrossed in what their elder was communicating just as fast. Each time he pointed to her all three heads turned to her before snapping back to him when his growling story continued.

"Yeah, that was my bad, sorry!" She called out when it appeared he was scolding the youngest for jumping without looking. "I startled him. I shouldn't have clapped, I wasn't thinking. I was just proud of you I didn't…"

They all stopped to look at her when she'd started babbling. By the time she was half through with her explanation she trailed off awkwardly. The way they were looking at her made her feel like she'd been spying on a private conversation. And they did not appreciate it. She self-consciously threaded some hair behind her ear and looked down at the plaid material covering her theighs.

The rumbles continued after a few seconds and she looked up to see them huddled closer together. They congregated long enough to make her shift with impatiens. A grey arm eventually shot up from the bunch and waved. She waved back. All the shiny gleaming heads turned her way and curious grunts came from the smaller two. They attempted the gesture and the lighter of the duo accidentally elbowed his dark copy in his lax mouth. Her laughter stopped their resulting squabble prematurely. They returned her sounds in high pitched hyena-like titters that sent intrigued shivers down her spine. It was an unnerving sound but it made her mind wonder to the other possible noises they were capable of when not aggressively growling.

The raven leader did not seem as accepting of her. He appeared standoffish and reserved in a way that mirrored the manner in which she carried herself around her counselor. Her laughter quickly died and she cleared her throat. Lisa fidgeted nervously as their eyes locked but she didn't look away. She felt like the beast was judging her as his scrutinizing gaze eventually relented and traveled over the rest of her. It was a relief when the grey abby continued speaking in varying growls and his calculating eyes left her.

The one she'd begun thinking of as hers without realizing it pointed toward her for the final time and made the sharp chirp she recognized. The rest of his fingers followed his pointer and uncurled toward her, reaching the same way he had some twenty minutes earlier. His fellow abbies looked at him in what must have been confusion and disbelief on their different faces. He dropped his arm and turned back to them, bobbing his head in a plea for them to believe him.

Their snouts lifted and they breathed in deeply. The smaller two twitched in rapid confusion. The largest's mouth opened to sample more. His pearly fangs contrasted with his ebony skin tone in a way that showcased the weapons. Lisa estimated they were three times as long as her own teeth. He huffed at the air for many long minutes as his three comrades waited for his analysis. Each breeze that swept past her toward them puffed his chiseled chest out further until he let his lungs deflate. His head cocked slowly at her and two of his thick fingers rose to rub back and fourth along his chin while he appeared to think in his crouched position.

She felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. The grey one's thoughtful looks were noting compared to the darkest one's pensive movements. He appeared to her as the oldest and wisest of the wayward herd. None of them moved or made a sound as he considered her. They showed him respect and submission in doing so. And when he did choose to move they all looked to him expectantly.

He turned to the grey abby and uttered one grunt with a nod of his head. He made a small gesture outward toward the end of the branch. The familiar abby eagerly complied and climbed out as far as he could. Lisa watched him repeat the gesture she'd mimicked and waited with his claws outstretched for her to reciprocate. She stayed frozen for a few seconds until he repeated his intensified chirp and demandingly jerked his open palm at her.

Lisa's body began unfolding to make her careful descent to the gutter without looking up. They all watched her and the smallest ones found themselves beginning journeys on their own branches. Eyes wide with curiosity as she reached the end of hers and began lifting her arm toward their elder.

She extended her fingers as far as she could and let out a sound she hoped was similar enough to what he made. She felt absolutely ridiculous for a split second when the others didn't react and her abby bounced wildly with happiness. He looked back to the dark shape behind him and his branch rose as the giant's weight transferred to a bigger one. The black abby came forward to watch closer and his head cocked when she repeated the noise for them. Her grey answered with his chirp and then looked over to the eldest with a hopeful expression on his ghoulish face. The smallest ones were beginning to raise their arms but still looked for his final permission.

He took one last upturned inhale of her scent and growled affirmatively. His inky claws shot out confidently and the sound he produced was more akin to a bark, much deeper than the grey abby's. The smaller duo sent out shrill pitched sounds with their hands. She knelt there staring at their four outstretched limbs, unsure of what she was supposed to do. She did not want to get sucked into a never ending chirping loop much like the waving one. They were looking at her expectantly. And when she'd done it for the grey one it seemed to make him overjoyed. She mentally shrugged to herself and decided to appease them.

She let out an uncertain breath and angled herself toward the biggest one. Logic told her it was good manners to start with him in light of how the others treated him with high regard. She splayed her fingers wide and attempted to match his tone and type of call. His exuberant reaction must have been out of character for him because the other abbies had forgotten the usage of their jaws. The hearty branch under him creaked in protest at his chipper bouncing. A lighthearted guffawing came from the beaming smile his serious mouth had morphed into.

The grey's reaction was similar. When the smaller two received their gestures from her they went ballistic. Their celebration carried up into the branches above their brothers and rained leaves down on them. The rambunctious behavior sobered the elder two and sent warning growls shooting up at them before their gaze returned to her.

"Great. Glad I could be of service." she chuckled at them with a small awkward wave.

She turned to resume her safety spot and an agitated roar sounded behind her. Ignoring it she focused on not falling off the roof while she moved. A familiar industrial rumbling began in the distance and made her scramble to reach the windowsill as it grew closer. The slamming of two truck doors on the other side of the house made her pause and drop onto her side to face the abbies. Her front teeth ached from how hard she blew air between them to shush the creatures across the yard. She sent a thankful smile to the grey abby as he shoved his palm over the pale one's opening mouth. His attempt at hushing them came out in a hiss as her surrogate dad's work-boots thumped against the home's wraparound porch and her makeshift mom's heels clicked in unison. Lisa breathed a small sigh of relief when the front door to the house slammed shut.

"Yeah, ssshhhhhh" she agreed as she sat up, bringing a finger to her mouth to demonstrate what they needed to do.

The white abbey's cackle began to bubble from behind the ashy hand restraining it.

"It's not funny. If they see you you're dead." she snapped at him, making the grey hand move with his head as it cocked at her in wonder.

The sternness of her tone got across to the ghostly teenager and he fell silent. She kept tapping the side of her finger against her lips as the five sets of ears, human and aberration alike, listened intently to the sounds of people moving around the house. Hostile voices began rising right on queue and her head nodded at the same moment.

"Okay, they won't hear you for a good hour..hour and a half I'd say. Growl away. Or roar. Or whatever it is you guys do…" she announced with a permissive wave of her hand.

She'd half expected chaos to ensue once she stopped speaking. They stared at her contently from their branches for some time. As dusk started to approach the darkest male grunted and turned his head toward the grey abby. He jumped to join him on his perch. They looked to her and then the fence. Grunting to each other in agreement as the black one pointed to big tree limbs and then the lanced toppers of the fence.

"They're discussing a plan to get over here." She whispered to herself in awe as her mind grappled with the magnitude of what their ability to organize meant.

Her own brain raced to figure out a way to analyze the behaviors she'd seen them exhibit. It was all so much at once she could hardly think. One solid idea came to mind and she bolted through the window she quickly opened and shut. Four cries of dislike followed her down the attic's stairway and made her run faster through the second story hallway. She knew the sooner she got back the sooner she could quiet them down. The closer she grew to the main floor the louder the adult squabbling grew. Her backpack was within her reach when the woman boiling water on the kitchen stove paused from ranting about how odd it was that her husband was the sole garbage man of Wayward Pines. Her brown eyes landed on the teenage girl trying to quietly slink from the room.

"I'm not climbin' all them stairs young lady! Dinner'll be done in fifteen minutes. Be down then or you can eat it cold! Ya hear?!"

The disgruntled woman yelled after her. She didn't wait for the girl's "Yes ma'am" reply. Instead she ripped open a cardboard box and began questioning her husband as to where all the garbage in town went.

Lisa's leg muscles burned with the effort she put into propelling herself up two flights of steps as fast as possible. Their noises had progressed from dislike to downright distress.

"I'm right here, calm down!" She yelled when she reached the window, waving her hand through it to show them.

Happy grunts filled the air and made her lips twitch as she bent over to drop her backpack on the floor and grabbed a notebook from inside it. She settled into her customary seat and the group settled into watching her intently. Twenty minutes passed with her hunched over, writing observations of the abbies and her theories on their behaviors. Her back was stiff and her hand was cramping from how tight she'd been gripping her pencil in concentration.

The onyx abby grumbled from its perch as the hairy thing wiggled a stick the color of the sun across a cloud-colored page. He watched her long mane brush her arms each time her head bowed to look at the scribblings. When the wispy strands flowed in the breeze they entranced him into a familiar frustrating state he did not enjoy. His head quirked as he wondered if the thing's fur was soft like the long-eared hopping snacks.

A feminine voice screaming her name from the hastily slammed kitchen window below made her jump. Her head snapped up and she found the intimidating abby watching her more fixatedly than the others. The twin terrors had begun a slashing game of tag on the branches farther into the woods when she'd failed to do anything interesting to keep their attention.

"Okay, thank you!" she yelled back quickly, thankful to hear the window sliding shut before her thanks were finished.

Sounds of protest came from the older abbies when they saw her turning to climb inside. The unhappy growls turned pleading when she closed the glass behind her. Lisa paused where she was knelt and let out a worried breath. Their noises became less frantic when she re-opened the window.

"Shhhhhh. I'll be back."

She tried to reassure the small group but as soon as she turned away from the opening whining growls from the younger two called after her. The motion of her right hand slashing through the window's opening combined with angry hushing silenced the lot.

"I will come back. Just shushhhh. Shut your pieholes for ten minutes. Go eat something."

Their curious heads quirked at her words. Lisa brought her empty hands to her face and made sounds like she was devouring something in them.

"Do you guys get it? Food? Go find food? Go eat? Understand?"

A grunt left the raven abby that she liberally took as a yes. This time when she rose from her crouched place in front of the window and turned away, no barbaric sounds followed her along the attic's floorboards. She looked back suspiciously when she reached the top of the stairs. Expecting some kind of ruckus as she started disappearing from their sight step by downward step. She did it in steady increments until the top of her head disappeared from the window frame's view. A two minute grace period was given to make sure they wouldn't roar.

"Lisa!"

The scream of her name made her jump with unexpected, startled, fright. An indignant curse left her as she clutched her chest and headed for the first floor.

"Bout time."

A grumbling voice greeted her and she silently raised and dropped her brows in answer.

"This whole place just don't make no sense.." The woman continued as the girl sat and looked unhappily down at the repetitive meal set before her. "…ain't never heard of Pilchacaroni and Cheese in my life. What kinda company makes mac an cheese taste this bad?"

Lisa wordlessly lifted the first forkful of carrot-based pasta to her mouth. Her mother's catchphrase was delivered next as expected.

"Sumthin' ain't right."

Many of the fights that took place in their household were the result of Wayward Pines puzzle pieces that didn't fit into place.

"How come we got stuck in tha stix? Why'd we settle for this place? Huh? Cuz you're the garbage man?"

Lisa'a father shrugged and shoveled another forkful in his mouth so he didn't have to answer.

"You seen them new houses on Cherry Street? Ones with the fancy garages in the back? Why didn't we pick somethin' like that?"

A heavy sigh left the bearded man and his eyes flickered to the woman.

"Don't know Maggie, ain't like the realtor lady gave us much a choice. Ain't much a choice bout anything for anyone round 'ere. People jus got a way a goin' along. Why cantcha go along?"

"Go along my ass-"

Lisa took the opportunity to cut Maggie off and prevent the escalation of a fight.

"Leroy, how about you let me do the grilling this Sunday. I know your sciatica has been troubling you."

She made the offer for a different purpose. One that swung into view behind her parents heads. Her eyes shifted quickly back to his, away from the sliver of occupied trees that were visible between the kitchen window and the top of the fence. The man in front of her gave her a dubious look and his beard wiggled while his lips shifted back and fourth.

"Ain't got a lotta steaks.. to be messin' up…"

He drawled uncertainly with a wary look down at the one of the few things his wife was capable of making.

"I know how to do it properly. My dad-"

Lisa abruptly stopped herself from breaking the rules.

"I know how to cook a steak." She concluded sharply, watching as he nodded to her.

"Yer dad what?"

Maggie demanded, watching her face darken into the unsettling bubbly mask the girl used outside their home.

"Do not discuss the past."

She recited the rule cheerfully. In the same falsely pleasant way all the children and adults spoke in town. Maggie gave her an un-amused look and shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

"Why?"

"Because it is forbidden."

"Why?"

The repeated question made her knuckles crack underneath the table as they clenched in a frustrated fist. Many times she'd come close to telling them the truth. It seemed ridiculous and counterproductive to her. Keeping the majority of the adult population in the dark often put her in a position of authority above the two seated across from her. She regularly felt like the parent when she was forced to remind them of the rules and corral them toward compliance.

"Because it is." She growled through clenched smiling teeth.

A weak rumbling made the adults look around the room. Her eyes bulged and darted toward the glass behind them. She held her stomach and let out a fake groan to keep them from turning toward the window.

"I believe I drank some bad celery soda at school today."

Another glass-filtered roar made her double over with a pained expression on her face.

"I'm going to eat upstairs.. On the toilet."

She added the last detail to discourage questions. It seemed to work perfectly because they both nodded to her with repulsed expressions. More rumblings forced her to talk over them as she retreated with her bowl.

"I'll put in a word for you about Cherry Street. You prefer the brown ones, right Maggie?"

Lisa did not stick around to hear her answer. Or the questions that followed from each parent.

"Put in a word to who?"

"Why'd she have blood on 'er shirt?"

* * *

In a dim room filled with the soft whir of computer systems, tired eyes strained to be certain they were seeing what they saw. Fingers tapped rapidly at keys to make the thermal surveillance system zoom in.

"Rhodric come look at this."

A middle-aged man approached the tech's chair, leaning over her shoulder to look at the screen. He too squinted at the straight line of four red dots.

"Call Doctor Pilcher immediately. He needs to see this."


End file.
